Obesity
What is Obesity?
Obesity is caused when extra calories, particularly from foods that are high in fat and sugar, are stored in the body as fat.
If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is 30 or above, you are considered Medically Obese.
How do I calculate my Body Mass Index (BMI)?
To Calculate your BMI, you will need to know your height and weight.
If you do not have access to scales at home, these measurements can be taken using our Pod at the Surgery.
Put your measurements into the NHS BMI Calculator. It will also ask you for some details about your ethnic background to give you more accurate advice.
The BMI Calculator will display your result as a number, with one of the following weight categories. This will help you to know what support we can refer you to.
Under Weight
BMI of less than 18.5
Healthy Weight
BMI between 18.5 and 24.9
Over Weight
BMI Between 25 and 29.9
Obese
BMI 30 and over
Related Conditions
A higher BMI increases your risk of developing long term conditions.
Being Obese, can cause complex health conditions such as Diabetes, Heart Failure, and High Blood Pressure, among others...
Referrals
We are awaiting information to populate this section. Please come back later.
Lifestyle Changes
We understand that making changes can be difficult. It can be tough to know where to start, and things can feel overwhelming.
That's why we havve put together some resources to help make these changes a little easier.
Becoming More Active
Who says becoming active has to mean joining a Gym? You can take steps to become more active from the comfort of your own home!
- Following a home workout video can be a great place to start, you can find some on the Better Health website, or by searching online.
- Did you know, there is free exercise equipment in many of the local parks and green spaces?
- Mid Sussex Wellbeing have created a list of locations of free outdoor gym equipment to help get you started!
- We have lots of resources linked on our Looking after Your General Health page, with ideas of small ways to be more active, even for those of us who aren't naturally sporty!
Changing your Diet
- Did you know, changing your Diet can be as easy as making some simple swaps?
- The NHS Food Scanner App suggests healthier alternatives to try, and shows you the salt, sugar and saturated fat content of the item you have scanned.
- You can find healthy recipe inspration on the Better Health website
- Our Healthy Eating and Weight Loss Page contains recipes and information to help you to change your diet.
Last Updated 22/04/2025